TUSCALOOSA – The Alabama men’s basketball team finalized its 2018-19 non-conference schedule, and coach Avery Johnson expects this year's slate to be another challenging one.

Four of the Tide’s 11 known opponents won a regular season or tournament championship last season, while six reached either the NCAA or NIT a year ago.

This year’s non-league slate will be highlighted by a pair of home matchups against Arizona (Dec. 9) and defending NIT champion Penn State (Dec. 21).

In addition to those contests, Alabama will play a total of six non-conference games under the arched roof of Coleman Coliseum. The Tide will welcome Murray State (Nov. 26) and Georgia State (Dec. 4) to Tuscaloosa this year, each of which won their respective league championship last season to earn an automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Tournament, along with Southern (Nov. 6) and Appalachian State (Nov. 11).

Non-conference road contests include UCF, Stephen F. Austin, Baylor and a trio of highly touted opponents at the Charleston Classic.

In addition to playing six true home games, the Crimson Tide will return to Huntsville for the third consecutive year of the Rocket City Classic, taking on Liberty at the Von Braun Center on Dec. 18.

“Our strategy each year is to have one of the strongest non-conference schedules in the country – one that will challenge our coaches and players, and be exciting for our fans." Johnson said. "This year’s schedule certainly meets that criteria. We will welcome some terrific teams to Coleman Coliseum – Power 5 and high-quality mid-major programs – and we will face some great competition on the road against teams that are favored in their respective conference to reach this year’s NCAA Tournament.

"There is no doubt this schedule will prepare us well for the SEC season.”

Alabama opens the 2018-19 campaign with a pair of home matchups, first coming on Nov. 6, when it hosts Johnson’s alma mater Southern University, which will be the season-opener for both squads.

Following the home-opener, the Tide will welcome Appalachian State to Coleman Coliseum on Nov. 11 to close out the two-game homestand.

The team will next travel to Charleston, S.C., to participate in the Charleston Classic, which features five NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago. Alabama will open the event against Northeastern on Nov. 15 and face the winner between Virginia Tech and Ball State on Nov. 16.

The championship game will take place on Nov. 18. The other side of the bracket features Appalachian State, Davidson, Purdue and Wichita State.

The Crimson Tide will then return home to host the defending Ohio Valley Conference regular-season and tournament champions Murray State on Nov. 26, before traveling to Orlando, Fla., for the first true road matchup of the season against UCF on Nov. 29.

Alabama will then begin another two-game homestand when it welcomes a pair of defending conference champions to Tuscaloosa.

First, Alabama will host the defending Sun Belt tournament champions Georgia State, who earned a NCAA Tournament berth last season, on Dec. 4. Following that contest, the defending Pac-12 regular season and tournament champions Arizona will come to town for a matchup on Dec. 9.

Next, the Tide will head to Huntsville for the third installment of the Rocket City Classic against the Liberty Flames on Dec. 18, before returning to Tuscaloosa to host the defending NIT Champions, Penn State, on Dec. 21.

The final two contests of the Tide’s non-conference slate will be true road games. First, Alabama will travel to the state of Texas to take on the defending Southland Conference tournament champions Stephen F. Austin on Dec. 30.

The final non-conference game will take place on Jan. 26, when the Tide travels to Waco, Texas, to take on the Baylor Bears in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. It will mark the sixth year of the annual conference matchup, and the second consecutive year that Alabama will be a part of the 10-team event.

The Crimson Tide will play an exhibition game prior to the start of the regular season, but the opponent and date of that game are yet to be finalized.